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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page essay that examines Mary D. Russell's science fiction novel The Sparrow. In this novel the author raises profound questions concerning the nature of morality. The writer briefly summarizes the plot and then discusses the questions raised by the text, i.e. Can something be condemned as 'bad' outside of its cultural context? What constitutes 'good' and 'moral' conduct? What role does God play when bad things happen to good people? No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khmdrspa.rtf
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its cultural context? What constitutes "good" and "moral" conduct? What role does God play when bad things happen to good people? Russell does not offer definitive answers to these issues,
but she does imply a moral stance with which many of her readers will undoubtedly disagree. The novel follows two time frames. It begins with a Jesuit priest,
Emilio Sandoz, returning to Earth in 2059, as the sole survivor of an expedition launched 40 years earlier in response to the broadcast of beautiful, religious-sounding music picked up by
astronomers. The expedition was organized by the Jesuits, not to convert the aliens responsible for the music, but rather to learn from them. Sandoz, despite the fact that he is
physically only a few years older than when he left -- thanks to the slowing down of time experienced while traveling at close to the speed of light --
is broken both in mind and body. He is suspected of committing a despicable crime while on the alien planet. The novel switches perspective between Sandozs debriefing and a
telling of the story in chronological order. In this manner, the reader sees what happened, and also has access to Sandozs retrospective evaluations. The planet that the expedition finds is
conveniently Earth-like, with an oxygen atmosphere, abundant plant-life that is non-toxic for human consumption, and bi-pedal, roughly human-sized aliens with two sexes who are capable of learning English. However, while
the aliens are remarkably humanoid, their culture is totally different from any thing on Earth. Without meaning to do harm, the intervention of the humans in their society causes
alien villagers terrible pain. The questions that Russell raises with this book can be categorized as those pertaining to morality and those pertaining to God. The moral questions
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